UK - Woman, 20s, stabbed at co-op store in Headington, Oxford, Mar 2019 *Arrest*

[Jackalyn]

Oxford stabbing: Girl left bleeding on floor in horror Headington attack

I am not used to posting anywhere but missing persons, but it seems there is a potential killer on the run in Oxford. I believe the woman is still alive as no news to the contrary and the police know who did it. Some reports say the woman was stabbed in front of her child. What surprises me is so little news since last night and they have not said who they are looking for. This news was overshadowed by other stabbings elsewhere. Finchley, Coventry, Manchester, are all in the news. I know of a lady not in the news they have threatened whose children and the person who went for my own son is in jail. (My son is fine and was not injured, thankfully.) The UK is no longer a safe place to live.

This did not take place in a downmarket area. I lived nearby for some time and it is considered safe and respectable. The John Radcliffe Hospital is very near.

 

[Shin Masamura]

Not to get off topic with Gun debate or other means of self defense, but other mean such as using vehicles, knives, etc sky rocket up per capita.. look at this article.. sorry for your situation Jackalyn..
The Dark Reason 40,000 People Will Be Stabbed In The UK This Year

And then for the London mayor to not want people armed for defending them selves on complicates the matter..

After a number of deaths which have been reported recently across the city, the mayor tweeted once more to warn citizens why no one should be carrying a knife.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Khan wrote:

I‘m angered and heartbroken by the number of violent deaths on our streets this week – and this year. It’s been devastating to see lives – so many of them young lives – senselessly ended and more families left in despair.

Let me be clear – there is no reason to carry a knife. To anyone who does – they will be caught, and they will feel the force of the law.

35 people have been charged for murder offences occurring during 2018 so far.

If you have any information on any of the killings – please call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to remain anonymous.

We need communities, families, friends and neighbours to give us the information we need to bring these criminals to justice.

 

[Oraclle]

And then for the London mayor to not want people armed for defending them selves on complicates the matter..

Sorry, but a knife is not a valid defence against a knife. It might not even be a defence against fists if there is a size disparity, and then you've also armed your assailant.

What's needed is more Police and social services to tackle the root cause of why people feel the need to stab each other in the first place. A conservative government is unlikely to fund such things, unfortunately.

 

[Shin Masamura]

Sorry, but a knife is not a valid defense against a knife. It might not even be a defence against fists if there is a size disparity, and then you've also armed your assailant.

What's needed is more Police and social services to tackle the root cause of why people feel the need to stab each other in the first place. A conservative government is unlikely to fund such things, unfortunately.

To your point, if you are advocating for a more police state.. lets look at the stats in London alone

31,075 police officers[5]
8,732 police staff[5]
1,464 PCSOs[5]
Volunteers 2,763 special constables
1,500 Met Police volunteers
3,658 volunteer police cadets
Annual budget £3.24 billion[6]

*As of March 2018, the Met had 40,327 full-time personnel. This included 30,390 police officers, 8,027 police staff, 1,315 police community support officers and 595 designated officers.[12] This number excludes the 2,246 special constables, who work voluntarily part-time (a minimum of 16 hours a month) and who have the same powers and uniform as their regular colleagues. This makes the Metropolitan Police, in terms of officer numbers, the largest police force in the United Kingdom by a significant margin, and one of the biggest in the world.[13] In terms of its police area (primary geographic area of responsibility), leaving its national responsibilities aside, the Met has the eighth-smallest police area of the territorial police forces in the United Kingdom.

I will add that it is noted that there has been cuts to largest police force with more on the way.. this comes as crime soars since 2014..

And since I would assume the majority of the knife attacks much like the one in the initial post are outside of police presence.. how would defend them if that was your child and that was an issue in your state or municipality? Guns and knives are off the table ofcourse..

 

[Oraclle]

I am well aware of the old cliche "When seconds count, the Police are only minutes away." I am simply stating that the average person is not trained with a knife and unlikely to be any safer carrying one. In fact they are likely to be less safe due to being able to escalate a situation and having a false sense of security instead of just scarpering the first chance they get.

I'm not advocating for a Police state. The reason I would like more Police to be available is that then a portion of them can be used to proactively reduce crime via community initiatives, higher visibility, etc. I would also like more social services for exactly the same reason.

It's a little disingenuous to judge the size of the Met on its operational area, isn't it? They are policing the third largest city in Europe by population.

As far as defending my child, it's unlikely he will ever find himself in such a situation as he is lucky enough to be brought up in a middle-class area on a middle-class income. If you are asking what I would suggest to defend any child in that situation then I would say running away and not being involved with the sort of people who feel the need to carry knives.

 

[Shin Masamura]

I appreciate the civil dialogue we are having about the seemingly rising stabbings in the UK. I am open to new ideas..

I am well aware of the old cliche "When seconds count, the Police are only minutes away." I am simply stating that the average person is not trained with a knife and unlikely to be any safer carrying one. In fact they are likely to be less safe due to being able to escalate a situation and having a false sense of security instead of just scarpering the first chance they get.

Im not familiar with that cliche, however im not sure if you are dismissing the relevance of the fact the police are reactionary. Unless large congregations of people are present, concerts etc.. they are not everywhere nor can they be. As for the average person not being trained, well get trained or have some safe guard to protect yourself if your state or country allows such things.

It's a little disingenuous to judge the size of the Met on its operational area, isn't it? They are policing the third largest city in Europe by population.

I went back to double check my stats, it is ,if not the largest globally.. so much they had to reduce its budget by 700 million in their currency. I agree, every population needs a strong moral police force. However as you have stated there are larger cities with less of this epidemic. Also how many more are needed? And I agree with Social programs as a tool to help with this issue 100%.

As far as defending my child, it's unlikely he will ever find himself in such a situation as he is lucky enough to be brought up in a middle-class area on a middle-class income. If you are asking what I would suggest to defend any child in that situation then I would say running away and not being involved with the sort of people who feel the need to carry knives.

I was lost at first to the response here to the hypothetical question posed. Are you implying that majority of stabbed robbery victims are poor or lower class? That these incidents are isolated low income areas? Or because you live in a different country that might have more lax laws that allow you to defend yourself and deter such behavior?
When you answered how you would defend your child , you stated I would say running away and not being involved with the sort of people who feel the need to carry knives. Now I must be not understanding this answer, correct me please.

1.I understand this as you would either run away when your child is being attacked because you don't want to be involved with criminals carrying knives in which your child would be injured or killed

or

2. You would defend your child by telling them to run once they were already being attacked. Leaving women and children, who are prime targets by the way, at a disadvantage to the majority male aggressor. And I believe most of these victims like the poster above and in the article listed, would prefer not being involved with the sort of people who feel the need to carry knives for violent reasons.

So I appreciate the convo and hope you can clarify your stance on defending or lacktheoef of a loved one on the street.. thank you for being polite in such an important topic and I hope the fears of a potential killer on the run in the affluent city of Oxford is dealt with so this growing epidemic of stabbings can cease. Things are out of control..

 

[Oraclle]

Police in the UK do have proactive schemes that go beyond just arresting people after they've committed crimes. Community outreach, school visits, high visibility foot patrols, etc. These are meant to discourage criminal activity and encourage people to come forward with their concerns before crimes happen/escalate. The Police are unable to do their job effectively unless the community they police trusts them.

They shouldn't have to go it alone, though, and probably the majority of the work needs a more social approach.

I'm afraid I will just have to take your word on budget vs knife-crime as I can't find reliable, comparable statistics. I would imagine, however, that those more populous cities with lower knife crime (or violent crime? I assume that, if you're comparing with any US city, you're taking into account the greater prevalence of guns) are more geographically spread out. Just a guess, and I would be interested to investigate why a more populous city with a lower Police budget would have lower knife crime.

1. They aren't isolated to low income areas, but they are more likely to happen there. If we compare poverty levels by London borough in 2017 (Poverty by London local authority) with current rates of knife crime (Knife crime statistics - Commons Library briefing - UK Parliament) we can see that 8 of the top 10 poorest boroughs appear in the top 10 areas for knife crime. Hammersmith and Fulham is an odd deviation from the trend and I'd be interested to know how it differs from somewhere like Southwark.
As I live in a more affluent area, my family and I are less likely to ever experience knife crime, though I never said it was impossible. I don't know what the victimology of those being injured by criminals with knives is, so I can't comment on that.

2. My advice to my son is to not get into fights. To run if he sees a knife. To be aware of his surroundings to the point that he won't be in a situation where someone pulls a knife in the first place. It may put women and children at a disadvantage against an adult man, but I'm not sure what point you're making: they will always be at a disadvantage against an adult man regardless of what they do.
If I was with my son I would hope that I could be aware enough to steer us away from the situation. However, I think what you're asking is: if an attack was happening, what would I do? I would defend him by grappling with the assailant and certainly get stabbed while my son runs away. I think most parents would do the same.


Anyway, on the topic of the thread, fortunately the assailant has been caught:
Man arrested after Co-op stabbing

 

[Jackalyn]

I visited a church this morning and met an old acquaintance who gave a testimony. The girl is his relative. She remains under armed guard so she cannot be further harmed, but despite needing a blood transfusion and being stabbed in the back and neck, she is able to function normally and likely to recover. It just dawned on me that more than one person must be involved..

 

[Oraclle]

Good news then, Jackalyn. That poor woman, though; I hope her and her child are going to get psychological help when she's well enough.

The Police seem to think it was just one man. What makes you think there was more than one?

 

[Jackalyn]

Good news then, Jackalyn. That poor woman, though; I hope her and her child are going to get psychological help when she's well enough.

The Police seem to think it was just one man. What makes you think there was more than one?

I might be mistaken and it may just be what they do after an event like this, but I thought they would stop the armed guard if the guy was locked up. Then again, people can get released on bail when you don't expect it to happen or maybe it is a procedure that police follow.

 

[Oraclle]

I might be mistaken and it may just be what they do after an event like this, but I thought they would stop the armed guard if the guy was locked up. Then again, people can get released on bail when you don't expect it to happen or maybe it is a procedure that police follow.

Ah, right. Good point. As you say, he may be released on bail or it could be that he has family or friends that might try to do her harm. All the reports I've seen refer to "the offender" or "the man", so I think it was just one guy.